Cave Dwellers Read Online Free PDF

awkward bear crawl. It took a little more than two hours to reach the spot where Zaac had found Ramira, and just a little longer to get to the cavern where he had encountered the bats.
       “This is the spot where I heard you hollering,” he said. “The bats were hanging from the roof of this cavern. I must have startled them and they flew up the cave where you were. That’s the tunnel I came out of into this cavern. Let’s try this cave on the right and see where it leads.”
      “Can we rest a minute?” Ramira asked, feeling drained. “I’m getting tired.”
       “Let’s get out of this cavern first.” He looked around. “There are a lot of bat droppings here.”
       “I know. It’s stinky. Maybe we can find a place to rest up in that cave.”
       Once they were inside it, the going was much easier. After a few minutes, Zaac stopped. “This place looks as good as any. We might as well eat something to keep up our strength too.”  
       “That sounds like a wonderful idea to me.” Ramira dropped to the cave floor.
       “Do you like beef jerky?”
       “It’s not my favorite but I can eat it. A slice of pizza would sure taste good right now.”
       Zaac handed her a piece of jerky and took one for himself. Pulling out a couple of energy bars, he also gave one of those.
       “Will that be enough?” He wished he had more to offer.
       “It’ll be fine,” she said. “If it isn’t, we can always eat a few crackers to make up the difference.”
       “You mentioned pizza. I work part time at Aemilio’s at the strip mall close to our house. Even though it is called Aemilio’s, the owner’s name is Carlo. Funny, uh? They have a pizza buffet and salad bar. Have you ever heard of it?”
       “You have to be kidding me. Karlie and I ate there last night while we were out shopping for her to buy a new outfit. Like she really needs another one.”
       “I had to work last night. I make most of the pizzas when I’m working.”
       “I thought you looked familiar. I think we saw you rolling dough while we were waiting to be seated. You seemed to be hard at work. Last night the place was packed.”
       “The weekends usually are. They also have a steady clientele during the week. With the cheap prices they charge, I can see why.”
       “Why is it called Aemilio’s, when Carlo is the owner’s name?” Ramira asked.
       “Aemilio is his father’s name. He opened the first restaurant in Greensboro, North Carolina. Carlo opened one here while his brother opened another one in Charlotte.”
       Ramira looked around, distracted by their predicament from thoughts of pizza. “I hope the cave stays this large. It makes traveling much easier.”
       “I do too. If you don’t mind, I am going to turn off the light again.” He took off his headlamp. “We probably need to save it as much as possible for when we’re traveling.”
       “Let me get a bottle of water first.” Opening her pack, she pulled out a bottle. “Go ahead.”
       She took a swallow of water and followed it with a bite of beef jerky. “I don’t remember beef jerky tasting this good.”
       “It is probably the fact that you’re famished.”
       “Zaac? Do you think we’ll find a way out of here? What if we don’t?”
       “We’ll get out of here. We’ll do what it takes to survive until then. I won’t let anything happen to you. I promise.”
       “I always thought that I was stronger than this, that I would be able to handle anything.”
       “You are doing pretty well under the circumstances.” He put his hand on her shoulder. “You’re stronger than you realize. I don’t believe there is anyone that would be prepared for what happened to us.”
       “You seem to be calm. You are handling it all pretty well. What prepared you for this?”
       “I don’t know.” He thought about the question. “Boy Scouts tried to prepare us for a lot of the ‘what